Thanks. So, no benefits.
Makes it difficult to understand the utility of a switch.
I can't seem to find any "gigabyte" type router, but switches seem more common.

GigaByte 3D Aurora
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To put it simply, switches are for connecting multiple computers together to form a LAN. Routers are for connecting different networks together, i.e the Internet and a LAN.

Most home routers have built in switches, usually four port. If you want more computers to use the Internet you use another switch, not a router. One is enough. Two just complicates things.

Stuart

Hello,

Using a router for internet sharing at home since 2 years, all computers can access to eachother through this router.
So I can't understand the difference between a router and a swicth.
Would I get any advantage by using a swicth instead of a router or by adding a swicth into my routered lan?

GigaByte 3D Aurora
Asus P5WDHDeluxe RAID 0
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700
2GB DDR2 Twin2X 800MHz
nVidia GeForce 7900 GTX

http://ask-leo.com/whats_the_differ...

i_Xp/VistaUser

Switch is used to group computer within a network (the computers will on same network).

If the computer needs to access other computers on other network, then you need the router that have routing capability. Router will connect different networks and route the traffic between them (Switch won't be able to do it).

Sometimes you can add the switch to expand the network.

Hope helps..

The terms are not as clear as they used to be but the concepts are still there.

Most soho stuff are not advanced as a high end unit would be. For the most part a soho switch and a router are similar on the lan.

Your router may have some features that make it more (much more) desirable to keep. The router may help protect your lan in a number of ways where a switch can not. All that protection only happens when setup correctly and used correctly and rather assumes that some or all of the popular features are installed.

I read it wrong and answer it wrong too. So get off my case you peanut.

Most, if not all SOHO routers are switches with a Firewall, DHCP, and NAT added on them. The firewall aspect speaks for itself. It protects your LAN from intrusion. NAT allows multiple PC's to access the internet from a single IP address (the one provided by your ISP). DHCP, if you opt to use it allows you to automatically assign IP information to client computers on the network.

Switch is used to group computer within a network (the computers will on same network).

An enterprise level managed switch can allow multiple networks to reside on the same switch using VLAN's. So this isn't an absolute. In fact, with a 48 port switch, you could if you wanted, have 48 different VLAN's (subnets/networks) contained within a single switch.

Also, you can buy layer 3 switches that do routing as well....so a router isn't necessarily needed for routing.

For most small home environments you'll want a SOHO router between your DSL/cable modem and the LAN. This way you have a firewall protecting you from intrusion, which you won't get from just a regular switch.

If you have more PC's than you have LAN ports on the router, you purchase a small switch (unmanaged, unless you know a lot about managed switches and can afford one), plug it into a LAN port on the SOHO router and attach extra clients to the switch.

I can't seem to find any "gigabyte" type router, but switches seem more common.

You won't get 1000 Mbps access to the internet so if you really want it for your LAN, purchase an 8 port (or more if you have more than 8 PC's) gigabyte switch and plug all your clients into it and the switch in turn, into your SOHO router as I explained above. This will give all clients 1000 Mbps on the LAN. That is, providing of course all clients have 1000 Mbps NIC's in them.